Earth to Earth, Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust
by dreamsofyesterday1
Summary: Part Two of the 'Robyn' series. Old secrets are shared between two unlikely friends and tragedy strikes. Warning: implied character death and child abuse. Main character death later in the story. M for safety. Discretion advised but not overly warranted.
1. Chapter 1

Earth to Earth, Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust

Part two of the 'Robyn' series.

"Daddy! Daddy! Come and play with me!" A small voice called cheerfully.

The owner of that voice began tugging at Robbie's leg and he smiled in his sleep. After several more tugs Robbie fell out of his orange chair and landed on the floor with a bump.

"Oh no! Daddy!" the small voice cried and Robbie heard small feet running from his legs which came to a stop next to his head.

Opening his right eye so it was just a slit he peeked out at the little girl, he smiled again. It was a game they played often, the little girl would pull him out of his chair while he was pretending to sleep and he'd not wake up when hitting the floor. The little girl would run up to him and he'd peek out at her through closed looking eyes.

The little girl placed her small hand on Robbie's chin; very gently she pulled it down and giggled when Robbie opened his eyes. Once he'd opened his eyes Robbie shut his mouth and his eyes followed drawing more giggles from the girl. After a few minutes of this game he pretended to wake up and made a massive yawn.

"Really Robyn, you should really stop waking me up so early. It's only eight in the morning." Robbie said with mock anger.

Robyn laughed again and let Robbie get up to make her breakfast.

Four years had passed in Lazytown since Robyn's arrival. As much as the four years had been a confusing and difficult time for Robbie it had been rewarding. He had a wonderful relationship with his daughter and loved her very much. She had changed him in ways no one else could and he was grateful for her. Much to his pleasure she was a lot like her uncle Sportacus; gentle, kind and loving. Robbie himself had seemingly unending patience with Robyn and his experiences as a child taught him all the things NOT to do as a parent.

The newest family in Lazytown had moved onto the surface from underground. Robbie's lair held too many unhappy memories for him and since Bessie had moved in with the Mayor and Stephanie her house was vacant. Robbie had grown used to waking up to light of the sun rather than waking to darkness under the ground and he loved it. It had taken some time to adjust to the change but Robbie was absolutely convinced he wouldn't change back to the way he used to live.

Sportacus was in his airship, he'd just finished breakfast and was about to brush his teeth when a letter flew through the floor of the airship. It was unusual for a letter to arrive this early. Upon opening and reading the letter the colour drained from Sportacus' face, it read thus:

_Dear Mr Sportacus,_

_I am sorry to inform you that your sister, Lily, passed away two days ago. She died of a massive brain haemorrhage which may have been caused by a previous head injury. You may be confused as to why this didn't happen sooner but things like this can take many years to form. _

_I offer you my sincere condolences and will send you your sister's personal affects at your request. If you should choose to attend her burial it will be held at the Crazytown cemetery at noon tomorrow._

_Apologies and Condolences again,_

_Doctor Cranium._

Sportacus read the note over and over again. It didn't make sense. How could Lily be dead? She was only three years younger than him. He remembered that Lily had suffered a head injury when Stephanie had kicked her in the backs of the legs when she was trying to attack them. Lily hadn't hit her head that hard surely? She'd been knocked unconscious but he'd thought nothing of it at the time. All of the fighting had happened nearly five years ago; it had taken Lily that long to die.

Part of Sportacus was glad that Lily was dead, this was and extremely small part of him though. No matter what Lily had done she was his sister; he'd always hoped he could change her from the cruel, spiteful person she was to a kinder and gentler person. No matter what he had tried he'd always been thwarted and now Lily had paid for her bad deeds with her life. He didn't know if he should tell Robbie about her death or not. It was his duty to but Robbie had had more than enough of Lily and the mention of her name might reawaken old hurts and fears.

With breakfast out of the way Robyn started to think about the most important part of her day, playing. Robyn and Ziggy had formed quite a bond. Despite being four years younger than Ziggy they were both still the youngest of the children and played together the most often. Ziggy always knocked on the door at a quarter past nine every morning without fail. Robbie was getting used to seeing Ziggy every morning and if he and Robyn happened to breakfasting late he'd invite Ziggy for breakfast also.

Looking at the clock Robbie noticed it was almost that time for Ziggy to knock, he could picture the young chap running over to the house and this time thought he'd try something new. Robbie went over to the front door and opened it, on the door step was Ziggy. His hand was raised ready to knock and he was a little surprised at first but smiled and then laughed. Robyn giggled at the scene and ran over to the door. She was just about to run out when a gentle hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Where's daddy's kiss?" Robbie asked with a faked hurt expression on his face.

Robyn smiled and Robbie knelt down so his daughter could place a kiss on his cheek. At Robbie's nod she ran to join Ziggy who hated to watch 'kissy stuff'.


	2. Chapter 2

Robbie shut the door and clapped his hands together surveying the kitchen. The breakfast wreckage was yet to be cleared away and Robbie walked over to the table to clear it. Before reaching the table Robbie tripped on a toy that had been left lying on the floor and he hit his chest on the table. Grunting in pain Robbie tried to stand up but his chest resisted.

"Are you ok, Robbie?" A voice asked. Robbie looked up and saw the Mayor standing in the doorway.

"If I can move I will be," Robbie answered trying to stand up again.

"What did you do?"

"I tripped on Marty," Robbie pointed at the guilty toy which was a fluffy caterpillar, "I hit my chest on the corner of the table. It hurts a lot; I must have hit my ribs or something."

"Oh my, I'll try and find Sportacus. Can you hang on there until I get back?"

"I don't think I'll be going anywhere," Robbie answered with a hint of sarcasm.

With a nod the Mayor left.

Robbie laid his head on the table; he'd tried to lay down when the Mayor had left but every movement hurt and he was finding breathing difficult. 'I knew I should have gotten a _round_ table,' He thought. He hoped the Mayor and Sportacus would hurry; the last thing he wanted was for Robyn to come into the house and see him like this. A few more minutes passed and Robbie heard the front door open, looking up he was relieved to see Sportacus and the Mayor.

"So," Robbie began, his chest still hurting a great deal, "can we get me up from the floor and somewhere more comfortable? The view from here is rather dull and I fancy a change of scenery."

The Mayor and Sportacus smiled at this even though they knew it was an old Robbie style reproach. Sportacus walked over to Robbie and tried to help him stand but Robbie protested that it hurt too much that way. After thinking for a while Sportacus suggested perhaps the Mayor helping get Robbie lying on the ground and them carrying him from the ground to the floor. It took a great deal of time and trouble to do this but eventually their efforts paid off. It wasn't long after Robbie had been sat in his chair that Robyn came home from lunch.

"Hello Mr Mayor, hello uncle Sportacus. What are you doing here?" Robyn asked greeting each of the men in turn.

Robbie didn't want to worry Robyn but felt he had to tell her the truth, "daddy hurt himself sweetheart, and I should be ok after a nap."

Robyn's face fell and she looked close to tears. She was a very considerate little girl and cared for everyone a great deal. She hated it when people got hurt or were unhappy and strove to alter their unhappy conditions.

"Where does it hurt daddy? What did you do?" Robyn asked shakily.

"My chest. I fell over and hit the corner of the table. Daddy is very silly isn't he?" Robbie tried lightening Robyn's mood and succeeded very little.

Robyn was very close to tears now and was scooped up by Sportacus and given a big hug. It took some time but eventually Robyn was reassured that everything would be alright. All her daddy needed was some rest and a good nap and he'd be fine.

It was obvious that Robbie wouldn't be able to fix Robyn's lunch for her so the Mayor offered to take Robyn back to his house to lunch with himself, Bessie and Stephanie.

"I have a special treat for dessert, can you guess what it is?" the Mayor added after making his suggestion of lunch. Robyn shook her head and the mayor smiled, "its cake!"

Robyn smiled straight away. She was hungry and absolutely adored cake, just like her father. After once again being reassured that Robbie would be ok and was promised that uncle Sportacus would take good care of him Robyn left with the Mayor.

Once the Mayor and Robyn had left Robbie sighed. The area of his chest which he'd hit was still hurting badly and he doubted he'd get any sleep. Sportacus had heard the sigh and turned to look at Robbie, concern showing visibly on his face. He knew Robbie was in a lot more pain than he was letting on.

"Some things don't change do they?" Robbie asked suddenly.

"What do you mean?" Sportacus asked, curious.

"Me being clumsy. If I'm not getting hit in the head by things I'm tripping over Marty."

"Marty!"

"The Caterpillar toy, I got it for Robyn's second birthday."

"Oh," Sportacus said remembering. Robyn had named all of her toys and Sportacus could never remember which one was called what.

Sportacus turned to look at Robbie again when he heard him chuckle, "I think Marty's getting a little threadbare where I keep kicking him when I trip on him." Robbie explained.

Sportacus chuckled and getting up, picked Marty up off of the floor and went back over to Robbie. He inspected the strange toy and chuckled when he saw the truth of what Robbie said. It was a well known fact that Robbie made all of Robyn's toys himself and all of them were of a very high quality. It seemed that hidden talents could be bred in the strangest of people.

"Do you know all the names of Robyn's toys?" Sportacus asked.

Robbie thought for a second, "hmmm; there's Marty the caterpillar, Bob the fish, Bruno which is the bear with one ear; I gave that to Robyn to teeth with and she chewed his ear off, Colin the dog and Mr Brown which is Robyn's favourite teddy bear. He's the one with the green scarf"

Sportacus was speechless, not only did Robbie know the names of the toys but also what toys the names belonged to. He smiled and shook his head; Robyn had often told him that as her uncle he should be able to name at least three of the toys. The sad truth was that Sportacus was terrible at remembering the names and always got them wrong; he'd always be seriously reprimanded by Robyn when he claimed he didn't know. He was never reprimanded in a bad way, he would be told off in a false scolding manner and would be asked yet again to attempt to memorise the names. The only name that Sportacus could remember was Bruno but when it came to pointing out the toy that the name belonged to he'd always choose the wrong one.

Robbie shifted in his chair but the action brought a sharp pain to his still hurting chest, Sportacus didn't miss the sharp intake of breath and grew concerned for Robbie again. With their talking he'd forgotten about Robbie's accident and had also forgotten Lily's death.

"Can I get you something for your pain?" Sportacus' concern for Robbie was audible in his voice.

"I don't have anything and I'll be fine thanks. I've been in worse pain than this before and managed."

"If you're sure," Sportacus shrugged, when Robbie didn't want anything Robbie didn't want anything.

As much as Robbie had changed some things with him had stayed the same.


	3. Chapter 3

Robbie could sense that there was something wrong with Sportacus. He had known Sportacus long enough now to be able to tell when something was up. The most obvious sign was that Sportacus would sit still, Sportacus never sat still unless there was something very wrong. When it came to sharing problems Sportacus was much like himself apart from one major difference; Robbie didn't share his problems because he didn't like letting people in too close and Sportacus didn't share his problems because he didn't want to burden people and was meant to be a hero, heroes don't burden people. Robbie had been gradually been opening up over the years, his sessions with Doctor Cranium had done that. There were still things Robbie would never share, things that were too horrible to share and were locked away deep inside. These things hurt the most and he knew that by sharing them the pain would go away but he couldn't speak of them to anyone.

"A problem shared is a problem halved," Robbie thought out loud.

Sportacus looked up at Robbie again, "I don't have any problems. What makes you think I do?"

"For one thing you're sitting still and if your face gets any longer it'll be making its way out of the front door to go to visit Pixel,"

Sportacus smiled and decided to tell Robbie what his problem was, "I got a letter from Doctor Cranium this morning; it said that Lily died a couple of days ago and I don't know how to feel or what to do. Doctor Cranium also said that Lily was being buried at noon tomorrow, should I go?"

Robbie didn't know what to say. He was extremely surprised at the news and even though Robbie's feelings about Lily were clear he knew what the right thing that Sportacus should do was, "She's your sister. Go and say goodbye tomorrow before they put her in the ground. If you don't and try to ignore what's happened you'll only regret it for the rest of your life and you'll never go to see her. This is one of those one time things, you can only say goodbye once. Take the chance while it's there before it goes and feel what you want to feel. If you feel happy you have good reason and no one would blame you. If you feel sad people will understand that as well because you were her brother."

Sportacus was gob smacked; he'd never expected Robbie to say anything like that. It was very unlike Robbie to be so 'on the fence' about something like this. "I know how I feel and after what you said I don't regret it," Sportacus said.

"How do you feel?"

"Relieved." Was the answer. Robbie nodded, he felt the same way. Lily could harm him no longer and he could rest easy now he didn't have to look over his shoulder at every unfamiliar sound.

"What will you tell Robyn?" Sportacus asked after a short silence.

Robbie shook his head, "I haven't told her anything about Lily. I wouldn't have known what to say if I had and I guessed that telling her the truth would be a no go zone. When the day comes that she asks I'll think of something then."

"Does she ask how you found her?"

Robbie nodded, "all the time. It's her favourite bed time story. The stork delivering the baby thing worked very well and I tell her how I told her I'd eat her if she didn't go away. She giggles and always says, 'why didn't you eat me?' I always say she didn't have enough meat on her and I was waiting until she was bigger. She giggles again and says, 'am I big enough now?' The answer is always yes and I pretend to eat her. It's a good game."

Sportacus chuckled. He could picture it in his mind. On the odd occasion Robyn would stay the night with him in his airship but would never go to sleep unless uncle Sportacus showed her lots and lots of tricks. He liked doing the tricks for her and after three or four would always pretend he was tired and fall asleep. Robyn would always try to wake Sportacus up and the game was one of their favourites. The game would always work the same way and eventually after Sportacus pretending to fall asleep and waking up and then falling asleep again Robyn would fall asleep.

Robyn came home at four in the afternoon; she'd had her lunch and afternoon nap round the Mayor's house. She wanted to see how Robbie was and also refused dinner at the Mayor's house because 'daddy hated dining alone' and would miss her. She and the Mayor had come to an agreement that if Robbie was still unwell she'd go back to his house and have dinner and would spend the night so Robbie could get plenty of rest. Stephanie went with her and was looking forward to the possibility of Robyn staying the night. Despite the fact that Stephanie was now twelve and Robyn only four they were good friends. Robyn was a very nice and lively little girl and was also extremely cute. She was like the little sister that Stephanie never had and would often play with her.

Stephanie had also accompanied Robyn home for her own reasons, one of which was Sportacus. The Mayor had explained that Robyn was having lunch with them because Robbie had gotten hurt and that Sportacus was looking after him. As Stephanie had gotten older her crush on Sportacus had lessened but Pixel was starting to become more popular in the contest for her affections. Pixel was closer to her age and was one of her best friends, he could also relate to Stephanie better. Sportacus was still really cool but was becoming more of a big brother figure than a 'boyfriend' figure.

Robyn opened the front door quietly, not wanting to disturb the occupants inside her house. Sticking her head round the door she saw a pair of rather familiar looking blue legs with white stripes running down the sides. Looking up the legs and then the body Robyn saw Sportacus with an index finger pressed to his lips. He was indicating to Robyn and Stephanie that they should be quiet as Robbie had fallen asleep. "Daddy still isn't feeling very well. I know the Mayor invited you to stay the night if this was the case and I took the liberty of packing you a night bag. I put in Bruno for you to cuddle when you go to bed." Sportacus whispered.

Robyn pouted, "I don't want to cuddle Bruno tonight I want Mr Brown,"

Sportacus felt as if he could hit his head against a wall, he was being tested on the toys again. "I'll go get him for you," Sportacus offered and went to Robyn's bedroom.

Turning on the light Sportacus surveyed Robyn's brightly coloured bedroom. Inspecting each toy Sportacus tried to remember which one was which as Robbie had explained them. Eventually he remembered which one was Mr Brown and brought him out to Robyn who accepted him gratefully and gave her uncle a great big kiss on the cheek for getting the right toy. After a wave goodbye the two girls left. Sportacus was glad that Robyn was satisfied.


	4. Chapter 4

A new day had dawned in Lazytown. Sportacus had spent the night at Robbie's house honouring the promise he had made and as the sun shone through the window Sportacus knew it was time to get up. Quietly he stood up and stretched. He'd spent all night sleeping in a second fluffy orange arm chair Robbie had made for Robyn so she could sit too. The chair was perfectly comfy but wasn't a bed.

While Sportacus was doing his usual morning exercises Robbie stirred and woke up. It took a second for Robbie to remember why Sportacus was in his living room and what had happened the previous day. He was happy that the pain in his chest had died away but expected to find a really nasty looking bruise where he'd hit the table. He smiled at Sportacus when he'd finally figured out that Robbie was awake. Sportacus had done him a great service by staying with him all night and he hoped that he would receive some help with getting up. He'd been sitting an awfully long time and was feeling rather stiff; a shower would ease his aching muscles. Sportacus helped Robbie up and when he was satisfied that Robbie had his balance he let him walk to the bathroom.

Robbie hadn't expected Sportacus to still be in the house when he got out of the shower. He'd walked into the living room with a towel wrapped round his waist and had intended to make himself some breakfast until he saw his house guest was still present.

"You want some breakfast?" Robbie asked.

"Yes please, I suppose you have some fruit around here somewhere."

"I do. Robyn eats both healthy and 'unhealthy' stuff. Give me second and I'll dig out the fruit for you."

Robbie walked over to the kitchen and Sportacus was extremely shocked and surprised to see scars on Robbie's back when he'd faced away from him. The scars looked incredibly nasty and Sportacus never knew he'd had them before. As far as Sportacus could tell these were old scars and were much older than the scars on Robbie's cheek. Sportacus didn't know whether he should ask about them or not but one thing he did know was that the sight of the scars made him feel incredibly uncomfortable.

Robbie seemed to sense Sportacus' discomfort and explained the scars to him.

"You remember Mr Snail? You asked how I knew the man and I said I didn't want to talk about it, perhaps I should now. You want to know where I got the scars on my back from. I got them from Mr Snail." Robbie paused and tossed Sportacus an apple, "I was brought up in the Crazytown orphanage. My parents abandoned me there. Mr Snail runs the orphanage and has always ruled it with physical brutality. If things weren't done the way he wanted them done you were beaten. If you didn't do what he wanted you to do you were beaten. If you didn't consent to his 'special' treatment of you then you were beaten."

"What was the 'special treatment'?"

Robbie closed his eyes and fought back the tears that welled in his eyes at the mention of the special treatment. It was the special treatment which had given him the worst nightmares and which he would never speak of. He knew he had to tell Sportacus, he'd said too much already and Sportacus wasn't one to let things go.

"The special treatment was the worst thing he could do to someone. It was only reserved for his favourite boys." Robbie couldn't think of any better way to put it than the hard and bitter truth, "It consisted of him being very nice to you. So nice that he would touch you and do things to you that shouldn't be done to children. I was one of those favourites."

Robbie's words hung in the air and Sportacus couldn't believe what he was hearing. He'd had no idea that Robbie had been brought up in the Crazytown orphanage and that he'd been treated so badly. Sportacus felt nauseated at what Robbie had gone through with being subjected to the so called 'special treatment'. Robbie didn't have to explain what he'd meant any further than he had already, it was too horrible to imagine. It explained why Robbie was the way he was and he felt really bad for the older man. To Sportacus it was bad enough being abandoned by both parents but being submitted to torture was much worse and no one deserved that.

"The scars came from Mr Snail's belt buckle. He beat me so hard that day that I would have died if a Doctor hadn't come and helped me. I was taken out of the orphanage and even though the Doctor knew full well what went on there he did nothing about it. Turn a blind eye and no one gets hurt was the policy. I don't know how many boys they had to treat and then send back. I was lucky, by the time I'd regained full health I was too old to go back to the orphanage and found my lair in Lazytown." Robbie spoke without turning back to face Sportacus.

Sportacus' eyes were still riveted on the scars when Robbie eventually turned back. Robbie had won the fight against his tears but could see unshed ones in Sportacus' eyes. Robbie regretted hurting Sportacus by telling him his most precious secret but it had to be done. Robbie felt a lot better for sharing his feelings with Sportacus and didn't know what to say or do to console the younger man. Eventually coming to a decision Robbie walked over to Sportacus and hugged him. Sportacus reluctantly hugged back fearing that the scars still hurt but when Robbie made no protest he hugged back harder and shed the tears he'd been trying to keep back. Robbie could feel Sportacus' tears on his bare shoulder and fought to keep his own tears at bay once again. Sportacus drew back once he was calm again; he smiled shyly at Robbie as he hadn't expected the hug or the literal shoulder to cry on as well as showing his own emotions. Robbie placed his hand on Sportacus shoulder and then went into his bedroom to get changed.

Robbie didn't get changed for some time. He just sat on his bed and tried to figure out the implications of telling Sportacus his deepest secret. It was funny, a couple of years ago Robbie wouldn't have even told Sportacus the time let alone a secret like that. So much had changed between them or was it just Robbie changing? Sportacus had been trying to make a friend of Robbie for as long as he could remember but Robbie had always thwarted the attempts. Ever since Lily's betrayal of him and saving Sportacus, Robbie had grown to think differently of the blue 'sports elf'. Sportacus had done more for him than he'd ever expected and since Robyn's arrival things had changed completely. Robbie had first noticed the change when Sportacus had saved his life when Lily had attacked him. The months he'd spent at the Mayor's house while his arms recovered taught him that he could depend on other people without being asked for anything in return. The kindness and seeming forgiveness he'd been shown while he was being looked after surprised him greatly.

After reminiscing for what seemed an eternity Robbie eventually got dressed and went back into the living room. He wasn't surprised to see that Sportacus was still there, there were things still left to be said.

"Now I know why you wouldn't let anyone help you when you went in the bath or took a shower at the Mayor's house." Sportacus said plainly.

Robbie nodded his head, "they would have been seen and at the time I couldn't have explained them. You can't really say they're the result of walking into a door or falling over. Luckily not all of my scars can be seen, I have some on the back of my head which are just like the ones on my back."

"What made them? They looked really deep."

"A belt. That time that Mr Snail beat me with it was the time he'd almost killed me. All of the other times he beat me he used his fists and didn't care who could see the bruises left afterwards."

"Do they hurt?"

Robbie smiled, "I can't say they do anymore. They hurt for a very long time after they were made. I can feel them sometimes, it depends on the weather."

Sportacus nodded. He couldn't say anymore for the moment. He was trying to take it all in. Through all the years he'd known Robbie he'd never imagined what he'd gone through and it made sense in way as to why Robbie was so 'rotten'. There were still questions he wanted to ask but he could see that asking anymore questions would waive Robbie's already faltering composure. He could tell that Robbie wanted to share more but thought it best to leave it until later. Robyn would be home any minute and it wouldn't do for her to see her father cry.

Robyn came home shortly after Sportacus had decided not to press Robbie for anymore information about his past. She was overjoyed to see her daddy on his feet again and ran over to him. Robbie picked her up and gave her a great big hug. His chest screamed at him at the action but he ignored it and with well practiced skill blocked out the pain. Robbie's slight grimace didn't escape Sportacus' notice, however.

"I hope you were good for the Mayor last night," Robbie said whilst putting Robyn down.

"She was wonderful, Robbie. She couldn't have been better behaved and it was a pleasure having her." The Mayor said entering the house. Robbie guessed that Robyn had come running home and the Mayor just walked while carrying Robyn's things.

"That's very good to hear. We can't have Robyn being naughty now can we?" Sportacus joined and gave Robyn a playful smile. "I better be going now anyway. I have something I have to do today and need to get ready." Sportacus winked at Robbie and received a nod in answer. Robbie knew what that thing was.


	5. Chapter 5

Once back in his airship Sportacus went in the shower and changed his clothes. He was anxious about going to the burial but as Robbie had said he'd always regret it if he didn't. It was still hard for him to believe that Lily was gone; a four year age difference is a lot when your younger sister dies.

Sportacus knew where the Crazytown cemetery was, he'd flown over it a few times. The cemetery wasn't in Crazytown but was in fact in between Lazytown and Crazytown. It housed the deceased residents of both towns but was officially owned by Crazytown, hence the name. The cemetery looked nice from the air, it was a well kept place and all the graves were in equal rows with the same white head stones. The sky would always be clear and bright blue over both towns and over the Crazytown cemetery there'd be clouds.

Some people said that it grew dark over the cemetery first and then the towns but it had never been proven to be more than pure hearsay. Sportacus fervently hoped that he'd never see any of his friends from Lazytown in that cemetery. He knew a time would come when it would happen but he hoped it wouldn't be for a very very long time. Looking at the clock Sportacus noticed that it was getting close to noon and he had to be going if he wanted to get there on time.

Ziggy walked over to Robbie's and Robyn's house. He was later than usual with coming over to play with Robyn as Pixel had wanted to show him his new computer game. Ziggy had eventually gotten away despite protests from the other members of the gang and was looking forward seeing Robyn. Today they were going to play tag and Ziggy had made the others promise they'd join in; they all liked the game and instantly agreed. Ziggy saw Robyn watching him through the window and when she knew he'd seen her she smiled and a few minutes later came out and they started their game.

Robbie was left alone in the house and thought about making Robyn another toy. He had to get some more materials for it and while Robyn was occupied it was the ideal time to get them. Making sure everything was tidy before he left Robbie left the house to go to the store.

Sportacus arrived at the cemetery in seemingly good time. Strangely the place was deserted and it looked like a new grave had been dug yet. Sportacus read the note again and was absolutely sure that it was the right day and time. Deciding it was best to walk around and look at each headstone in case the burial had been held early Sportacus began searching.


	6. Chapter 6

Robbie noticed that he was being followed long before he turned round to see who it was. He knew that it wasn't Robyn or any of the kids as the footsteps were much heavier than those of a child. He was being followed by an adult. He changed his course a little and a sinking feeling entered the pit of his stomach when the person continued following. Robbie thought it best to head to a quieter part of town before he turned and confronted his follower, he didn't want anyone to see what he thought might happen.

Robbie eventually came to a stop near the billboard which hid the entrance to his old lair from view, it took all his courage to turn and face the person who had been following him. When he did his blood ran cold in his veins. The figure stood closer to Robbie and drew its hand from behind its back; the metal item glinted in the sun.

He tried to turn and run but couldn't, he was petrified and his feet wouldn't cooperate with his brain. With a smile the figure moved even closer to Robbie and aimed the metal object. Robbie felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. He looked down and saw a knife in his stomach. His eyes followed the hand which the knife was connected to and he looked into the eyes of his attacker. The knife was drawn out and with a further smile from the figure it was thrust in again with much more force. Robbie couldn't scream, blood welled in his mouth and flooded out instead of a cry for help. The knife was pulled out again and was about to plunge in again but a hand stopped it. The figure turned to see who the restraining hand belonged to

"Brother," Lily hissed. "I think you're a little bit too late,"

Sportacus saw Robbie fall to the ground and instantly ran to his side. He knelt down and felt tears welling his eyes. He didn't know what to do. Robbie was bleeding heavily. Sportacus felt helpless, he'd never had to deal with anything like this before and it was certain Robbie would die. His tears flowed down his cheeks now, he looked up when he felt a hand hold his own.

"Look after Robyn for me. Don't let them take her away," Robbie whispered, his strength was ebbing fast.

Sportacus shook his head, "you can't die Robbie. Robyn needs you. I'm not her father, don't go Robbie please." Sportacus sobbed.

"I can't fight it."

After he'd finished what he'd said Robbie coughed twice and then fell still. His eyes no longer shone and his heart ground to a halt. Blood still trickled out of the corner of his mouth but eventually that stopped too.

"You know I shouldfind this upsetting, actually I think it's rather _funny_." Lily laughed from behind him.

Sportacus' anger rose immediately, she'd killed his friend and was now laughing about it. Lily would pay this time, she had gone too far. Sportacus stood up and whirled round. His face was red with rage and he was seething, every muscle readied for combat.

Lily smiled at her brother; it was the same mocking smile she used for everyone. This was the first time she had provoked Sportacus' rage to such a high level. Accepting Sportacus' invitation she too readied herself for an attack.

With almost blinding speed Sportacus ran at Lily and shoved her away with an almighty force. Lily was sent flying and hit a tree, the knife she was holding flying out of her hand. Sportacus came running after her but before he could grab her again Lily landed a devastating kick on his stomach and was horrified to see it had no affect, she'd pushed Sportacus too far. Not knowing what else to do and chastising herself for it Lily took off and ran with the speed she could. Sportacus was pursuing her with a growing pace and was closing the gap between them. When he sufficiently close Sportacus leapt on Lily like a lion does a gazelle and they fell tumbling to the ground. Sportacus had landed on top of Lily and wrapped his hands round her throat.

"Do it!" Lily choked, Sportacus' hold tightened but loosened when Lily cracked a rock she'd managed to grab into the side of Sportacus' head.

Sportacus fell to the ground and Lily fought to get big gulps of air through her damaged throat. Sportacus was still but would wake up soon and Lily took this as the ideal time to make her escape. She got up and began to run awkwardly, clutching her throat. Lily's sight began playing tricks on her and she didn't see the hole in the road ahead of her. She fell in to the hole and felt something sharp go through her back and chest. Looking down Lily saw a pipe sticking out of her. The sight of her blood pouring out of the pipe looked strange and she chuckled silently before everything went black.

It had been three days and the aftermath of what had happened was still being felt. Today was the day that Robbie was to be placed in the Crazytown cemetery. All the inhabitants of the town felt the blow in their own way but none took it harder than Sportacus. Robyn was too young to understand what had happened and was going to stay in Lazytown with Bessie who had offered to look after her.

Everyone arrived at the cemetery in good time. The minister and the coffin bearers were stood at the side of the grave waiting to begin. When he was satisfied that everyone who was coming was there he began the service.

The coffin was lowered into the ground with the words, "Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust."


End file.
